Journal article
Gravid females of the mosquito Aedes aegypti avoid oviposition on m-cresol in the presence of the deterrent isomer p-cresol
Parasites & vectors, v 7(1), pp 315-315
09 Jul 2014
PMID: 25008201
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Background: p-cresol (4-methylphenol) and its isomer m-cresol (3-methylphenol) have been shown to activate the same sensilla in Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) mosquitoes. Whereas p-cresol has been suggested to play a role in oviposition site choice, the behavioral significance of m-cresol is unknown.
Methods: Here, we assayed the oviposition behavior of Aedes aegypti towards p-cresol and m-cresol using cage assay. Specifically we tested different concentrations of p-cresol (10(-12)-10(3) ppm) and m-cresol (10(-1)-10(3) ppm), the 1:1 mixture of the two compounds at 10(2) ppm, and the two individual compounds at 10(2) ppm together in the same cage.
Results: We show that (1) p-cresol is a stimulant at a low concentration and deterrent over a broad range of higher concentrations (10(-8)-10(3) ppm), while m-cresol was behaviorally ineffective, except for a deterrent effect at the highest concentration (10(3) ppm) (2) in concentration choice tests (different concentrations tested against each other), both compounds were deterrent only at the highest concentration (3) a 1:1 mixture of both compounds exhibited a deterrent effect on oviposition (4) when presented in separate cups but together in the same cage, p-cresol and m-cresol (10(2) ppm) both received significantly less eggs than water alone.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that p-cresol is a strong oviposition deterrent with a stimulant effect at only a very low concentration, while m-cresol is not a deterrent per se. However, in the presence of p-cresol in the vicinity, m-cresol acts as a deterrent. This finding adds a new twist to the possible interactions of different odors in oviposition site choice: not only the source itself, but nearby odors also influence a mosquito's choice.
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Details
- Title
- Gravid females of the mosquito Aedes aegypti avoid oviposition on m-cresol in the presence of the deterrent isomer p-cresol
- Creators
- Ali Afify - University of KonstanzC. Giovanni Galizia - University of Konstanz
- Publication Details
- Parasites & vectors, v 7(1), pp 315-315
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- University of Konstanz German Research Foundation (DFG) International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Organismal Biology
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000339076500001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84903859227
- Other Identifier
- 991021229894404721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Parasitology
- Tropical Medicine